ABSTRACT

Fuel in any engine is burnt with air. Air is a mixture of gases and it contains approximately 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. Some of the oxygen is used to burn the fuel during the combustion process and the rest is supposed to just pass through unreacted. But when the peak temperatures are high enough for long periods of time, the nitrogen and oxygen combine to form a class of compounds called nitrogen oxides, collectively referred to as NOx. These compounds are one of the chief constituents of smog, which have an adverse effect on ecological systems. They also contribute to the formation of acid rain.

NOx emissions can be reduced by lowering the cylinder temperatures. This can be done by three ways 1) Enriching the air fuel mixture 2) Lowering the compression ratio and retarding ignition timing 3) reducing the amount of Oxygen in the cylinder that inhibits the combustion process. The first two methods reduce the efficiency of combustion and so the best way is to reduce the amount of Oxygen. This is done by recirculating some exhaust gas and mixing it into the engine inlet air. This process is known as Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR).

The goal of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) is to reduce the amount of NOx produced. The EGR valve recirculates gases into the intake stream. Exhaust gases have already combusted, so they do not burn again when they are recirculated. These gases displace some of the normal intake charge. This chemically slows and cools the combustion process by several hundred degrees thus reducing NOx formation.